In a world with the majority of the religious population being Christian, certain books in the public school systems cause heated debates every year. One book/book series has caused one of the longest and most debated about issues books have ever seen in history. That series is the "Harry Potter" books written by J.K. Rowling. These novels have not only fired up arguments but cases to major courts, church riots, and public school disputes between parents and faculty. In an interview with MTV, Rowling explains that Harry and his beloved friends along with the entire stories’ plot is actually the opposite of demeaning towards Christianity, it promotes it.

Witchcraft? Ban it. Assault? Ban it. Wands and magic? Ban it. The "Harry Potter" series include 7 books in total starting with "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone" published in 1997 and ending with "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" printed in 2007. The novels themselves were critically acclaimed and have been put on a pedestal as one of the most beloved children’s series of all-time. J.K. Rowling herself was a primarily low-level researcher and only came up with the idea of "Harry Potter" on a train ride before publishing it later. It has since then skyrocketed her to heights never imagined by the 49-year-old Brit.

In the bible there are multiple passages restricting involvement with wizards and demons because of their evil powers and abilities. "Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19)", "You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe and shudder! (James 2)". (34) These are verses that Christians have used in their fight against Rowling and her "satanic" novels that promote death and evil witchcraft. Rowling, herself being a Christian, says "I go to church myself," she declared. "I don’t take any responsibility for the lunatic fringes of my own religion."

Why attack a book when one of your points is that the popularity of such a book may destroy young minds? Has this not happened previously in history and turned into quite an astonishing result? The Bible itself still to this day is criticized because as old as it is there have to be certain things that have been changed or tampered with. The most published and owned book in the world may not be completely legitimate and is/was banned in multiple countries, for a lot of the same reasons I may add. Jealous because of the unsurpassable popularity? Possibly is your kid just to attracted to the book he takes away from time with you? These are some of the questions parents should be asking themselves before they go on a rant about a book that has not only improved the likeness of book sin young kids but also promoted proud and honest values.

Gryffindor (Lion) — Honesty, Truthfulness, Proud, Honorable

Slytherin (Snake) — Straightforwardness, Loyalty, Ambition

Hufflepuff (Badger) — Resourcefulness, Hard work, Patience

Ravenclaw (Raven) — Intelligence, Wit, Knowledge

Such a horrible portrayal of values in the four classes at Hogwarts (school students attend in the novel) isn’t it? A parent just must be so limited in their ability to research and not delve into the information they’re fighting against enough because even one of the main ploys of the plot is Gryffindor versus Slytherin (Lion vs. Snake) in which Gryffindor represents good and Slytherin mirrors evil. Is that not hand in hand with God versus the Devil? Adam and Eve against the Snake? These comparisons are not only just existing in the books but are almost jumping off the pages they are so obvious. Your child is not becoming a demon by reading this book, he/she is not wanting to go out and murder and these claims are just ridiculous and have no ground in these arguments.

"While Rowling said that 'Hogwarts is a multifaith school,' these quotes, of course, are distinctly Christian. The second is a direct quote of Jesus from Matthew 6:19, the first from 1 Corinthians 15:26. As Hermione tells Harry shortly after he sees the graves, his parents’ message means 'living beyond death. Living after death.' It is one of the central foundations of resurrection theology." (Alder) This is yet another dose of Christianity that the general public seems to miss that has been inserted into these novels and fatefully enough are verses straight from the holy text. Rowling was almost afraid to put these references into the Half Blood Prince because she thought it might cause other religions to say she was promoting too much of the Christian faith. Instead, some Christians scream for banishment and recalls.

J.K. Rowling was named Time magazines’ most influential person in 2007. How could a woman like that write a book promoting death, killing, and demonic actions? Harry Potter novels, all seven, have been wrongly accused of multiple charges that have no true backing. Rowling herself is 'proud to be on the banned book list' (Alder) because it demonstrates the change her words really have made to the world, primarily in a positive way in most eyes. The fight will continue to take "Harry Potter" away from the shelves of schools and out of the hands of children, but the true facts have yet to surface. J.K. Rowling does the complete opposite of endorse witchcraft, she backs the Christian faith and pushes pure morality.